Priya's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Priya spreads the topographic map across the cabin floor, her finger tracing the vertical lines of Whitehaven's north face. The route calls to her like every death-defying stunt she used to choreograph, except this time she won't be standing behind a camera. She runs through the gear list in her head. Ice axes, check. Crampons, check. But the rock wall outside demands something specific for its frozen vertical stretch. She finds the standard rope in the supply cache, tests its weight, feels the stiff fibers crack under pressure. Wrong. The route she wants requires ice-resistant braided rope with frosted metal carabiners, the kind that won't snap when temperatures drop below zero. Without it, she's stuck on beginner walls. The realization sits in her chest like a failed stunt, watching the best scene get cut from the film.